For a man who has over 1,000 international wickets in his kitty, a mediocre IPL is hardly something to be worried about. Muttiah Muralitharan’s wicket-taking spree might have diminished in the tournament, but what really defines the man is his competitive outlook towards each game and, of course, the smile at the end of every delivery.

His eight wickets in the competition have come at an unusual 43.92, but something the stats won’t reveal is that his bowling, especially in the post-powerplay, has been difficult to get away with.
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Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he was pleased with the improvements his team had made during the IPL following their defeat in the final to Rajasthan Royals.

Royals won the inaugural final of the competition by three wickets on the last ball of the game, and despite defeat Dhoni said he was proud of what his side had achieved.

“I think the standard of our cricket was really good and it improved as the tournament progressed,” he said.

“In the final I think we were up to the mark. We lost as a team, the whole team took the responsibility; there were a few errors in batting, a few in fielding and a few in bowling so we are not really unhappy about it. That’s part and parcel of cricket. It went up to the last ball and we lost. We will not get bogged down by it. We will go back to the hotel and enjoy it because that’s what it’s all about.

“We had belief in each other. I am very happy with the improvement. If you see the way we played in the first game and compare it with the last game I am very happy with the performance of the team.”
Source: Joseph Caron/Setanta Sports

Mahendra Singh Dhoni may have lost the Indian Premier League final but every run he scored in the 44-day tournament was worth nearly Rs 1.5 lakh.
The Chennai Super Kings captain attracted the highest bid in the landmark IPL auction in February when the Chennai franchise owners shelled out a whopping Rs six crore for the Indian ODI and Twenty20 captain.

Dhoni tallied 414 runs at an average of 41.40 in 14 innings and each run that flowed from his blade was worth Rs 1,44,927.
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Yusuf Pathan’s phenomenal all-round act helped Rajasthan Royals win the Indian Premier League 2008 in a thrilling last-ball finish against Chennai Super Kings.

After an absorbing 44-day period, the outcome of the tournament was fittingly decided off the last possible ball, as Rajasthan chased 164. You couldn’t chose between two teams in a last-ball finish. MS Dhoni had had a phenomenal run in these last over finishes but his luck ran out on Sunday night at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium.
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A month and a half of cricket-watching ended with some pretty good cricket as the Rajasthan Royals lifted the inaugural Indian Premier League Twenty20 Cup and $1.2 million in prize money. Chennai were the putative underdogs, given the fabulous winning streak of the Royals. The team had belied their original promise, and much like the Little Engine That Could, pushed their way to the final, ably driven by Shane Warne, who will doubtless be noted in the annals of Rajput history, along with some friends from across the border. The victory was due a razor finish, avoiding a bowl-out from the final ball.

The Rajasthan Royals won the toss and chose to bowl. The innings started a little late due to the pre-game entertainment, ranging from the Cirque du Soleil to Salman Khan. Each team got some airtime in the form of Bollywood-themed performances. Cricket luminaries like Sharad Pawar and David Morgan hailed the IPL format and Lalit Modi proclaimed their ‘hopes fulfilled’.
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Best Team in the league Rajasthan Royals wins Debut IPL tournament defeating Chennai super kings by 3 wickets.
What a match! Two dull semi-finals but the final was an absolute humdinger. The momentum swayed throughout the match as both teams fought tooth and nail. Chennai kept picking up wickets at crucial times but the Royals never let the run rate spiral out of control. Great innings from Yusuf Pathan, but the 21-run partnership between Warne and Tanvir was instrumental. They kept their cool and steered their side home.

Dhoni’s got his players together and he’s telling them that they’ve fought superbly. What a game, what a fitting finish to the tournament. Warne looks relieved and excited hugging Darren Berry. Warne’s now calling his players together as the fireworks go off in abundance at the DY Patil stadium.

“Come over, come over boys,” shouts Warne. They are in a huddle and they’re jumping up and down, lovely scenes. Hugs all around among the Rajasthan players. The fans are dancing too.

Graeme Smith says he thinks he’s hurt his hamstring again while running out to congratulate the boys. He missed out today because of his injury which he says is a Grade two tear. He expects to be out for about four weeks.

Yusuf Pathan’s got a stump as a souvenir and he looks overwhelmed by emotion. Today was his match, 3 for 22 with the ball and then a half-century with the bat. And how fitting that Warne was in the middle when the winning runs were hit. Chennai competed splendidly but few will disagree that the better team won.

“A true finale….salute to good cricket and two good captains…a great day for cricket,” says Sunil.

There’s a massive presentation coming up, with loads of prizes. I’ll have all of that for you …

Chennai’s Super Kings are standing with arms over each others shoulders for the presentation, like footballers do during a penalty shoot out.

Yusuf Pathan wins the maximum sixes award for hitting four sixes today, and massive ones they were too! He’s the Man of the Match as well, a shoo-in really with 3 for 22 and 56 off 39 balls. “I’m speechless,” says Yusuf.” I’m so happy.” He really is speechless and Shastri has to coax him and then he gives credit to the bowlers for restricting Chennai. He says he was really nervous before the start of his innings. The nervousness showed in the early part of his innings as well but he settled down superbly.

There’s an award for the best under 19 player of the tournament and the winner is Shreevats Goswami who plays for the Bangalore Royal Challengers. “I learnt quite a lot …a dream come true to share the dressing room with such experienced players.”

Shaun Marsh isn’t here to collect the orange cap that he’s made his own by scoring 616 runs in the tournament. He was terrific. Sohail Tanvir walks up proudly to collect the purple cap, Tanvir took 21 wickets in the tournament.

“I bowled really well throughout the tournament,” says Tanvir ” but not in the final. It will help me in the future. He says he was feeling the pressure during the end of the run-chase but drew confidence from his hitting during the end of the World Twenty20 final against India in South Africa

The fair play award of the tournament goes to the Chennai Super Kings. Dhoni has a lot of hands to shake before he goes back to his team.

Now it’s time for the Man of the Series … step up Shane Watson who’s been a star with 474 runs and 17 wickets. “Winning was the most important thing,” says Watson. “I just tried to play as well as I could and everything came together well for me. We have a great set up and a team dynamic and the experience was amazing.”
Chennai’s players are now lining up to collect their medals. Dhoni’s collecting the runners-up cheque for Rs 2.4 crores ($600,000).

Dhoni: “I think the standard of our cricket was really good. We were up to the mark in the finals. We lost as a team. There were a few errors in batting and bowling. We’re not really unhappy or bogged down by it. We’ll go back to our hotel and enjoy it. That’s what sport is all about. the response from our team was great. even the guys who didn’t get a chance were completely behind the team. So the spirit was great.”
The Rajasthan team line-up to collect their medals from Sharad Pawar. Loud cheers as Warne goes up last to collect his medal, the winners cheque of Rs 4.8 crores ($1.2 million), and the trophy. He’s got his entire team with him.

“It’s been a fantastic journey. We’re gelled together really quickly. It makes me proud to see so many young guys learning and executing their skills in the middle. I think the crowds all over India have made the atmosphere amazing. Congratulations to Chennai. It’s been a wonderful ride for us.”

Warne says he was nervous and was hoping that Tanvir would be on strike for the final ball. He’s smiling of course. “As soon as Tanvir hit the ball I was ready to tear my hamstrings running for the single.”

Warne says “I don’t think there’s been too many better teams that I’ve played in during my career.” Warne goes back on stage to collect the trophy and the confetti machines go off, dousing the Rajsthan players as they celebrate once more.

Match facts
Sunday, June 1
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture
As the summer blockbuster comes to an end, two of its biggest superstars clash in the finale in Mumbai. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of the Chennai Super Kings, is the highest-paid player in this league but his counterpart in the Rajasthan Royals, Shane Warne, has delivered better results; his success at this year’s tournament would be the equivalent of the box-office returns of a Shahrukh Khan starrer.

A win for Dhoni would justify his US$1.5m price tag but would also be a last-minute twist to the fairytale ending that would hand Warne the trophy. Warne’s dual role as captain and coach of Rajasthan has been the story of the season: an entire team costing less than two-and-a-half times Dhoni’s price, whose owner’s low-budget strategy even got the thumbs down from the IPL’s chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi, was moulded into a successful unit.
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Chennai Will meet Rajasthan Royals in tomorrow’s final in Mumbai.
It was one-sided semi-final but again it’s been down to a team effort. A highly disciplined bowling attack did the job before Parthiv and Raina finished it off. Chennai have now beaten Punjab in all three matches between the two sides and will need to gear up for Rajasthan tomorrow.

No hugs for the Punjab side from Priety today. It’s been a disappointing effort but they can hold their heads high for the consistency they’ve shown through the league phases. They’ve been one of the most balanced sides in the tournament and strung together some fine wins. On the big day, though, it wasn’t to be.
Yuvraj Singh being booed again. This is really not in good taste from the Mumbai crowd. “We had to play well in the first 5 to 7 overs,” he says. “I think it was a good wicket to bat on. We didn’t bat well and didn’t do well under pressure. We’ve had a great tournament, very proud of the boys, especially Shaun Marsh. It’s been a learning experience as a captain. We’ve been the best team in the tournament except against Chennai.”

Dhoni gets the cheers. Mr Popularity. “The bowlers were upto the mark, bowled really well,” he says. “Overall the intensity was good and the batting again got the start we needed. It was a good team effort. Fielding has improved as the tournament as gone on. If I say I don’t feel pressure, I would be lying. If you walk upto a bowler and act is if you’re worried it gets to him. So I act as if I’m not. Around 150 people came from Chennai and we got some good support from the Mumbai crowd too.”

Man-of-the-Match Makhaya Ntini: “So far it’s been a great challenge. I think everyone in Chennai has appreciated that. I have always smiled and don’t show any pressure, make the ball talk. We knew that this wicket is going to be up and down so we needed to hit it as hard as we can. I cannot wait for tomorrow.”

After a cracker of a semi-final at Wankhede yesterday between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils, the action now shifts to the second semi-final between the Chennai Super kings and the Kings XI Punjab. Yuvraj’s men definitely have the upper hand after a spectacular victory in their last match against Rajasthan Royals - but Chennai are no pushovers and Dhoni and his boys will be ready to topple the mighty Punjab team.

The two teams’ fortunes in the Indian Premier League; While Punjab cruised into the semis, Chennai after a good start haven’t been too convincing enroute.

But Chennai has got the better of Punjab so far, with victories in both the league matches and captain Yuvraj Singh is well aware of the threat.
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Stephen Fleming, the Chennai Super Kings opener, will not be available for his team’s remaining matches as he is heading back to New Zealand for the birth of his child. Chennai have qualified for the IPL semi-finals and will now have to find a replacement opener for Fleming before Saturday.

However the Chennai management have decided not to sign on an overseas player as Fleming’s replacement. “We thought about it but there isn’t sufficient time to get a new player,” VB Chandrashekhar told Cricinfo. “We have Chamara Kapugedera in our ranks and will give him some opportunities instead.”
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